Temporary BLUETOOTH pairing

ABSTRACT

The concepts and technologies disclosed herein provide a vehicle system that can prompt a user to select a BLUETOOTH pairing type—normal or temporary. In response to receiving selection of a temporary BLUETOOTH pairing type, the vehicle system can prompt the user to select a trigger for terminating a temporary pairing period during which the user device and the vehicle system are to be temporarily paired, and the vehicle system can receive selection of the trigger. The user device and the vehicle system can be paired. The vehicle system can receive data associated with the user and can store the data in a vehicle memory. The vehicle system can monitor for activation of the trigger. In response to the trigger being activated, the vehicle system can terminate the temporary pairing period thereby unpairing the user device and the vehicle system and can delete the data from the vehicle memory.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/665,983, entitled “Temporary Bluetooth Pairing,”filed Aug. 1, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,111,272, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/665,983, entitled “Temporary Bluetooth Pairing,”filed Aug. 1, 2017, now allowed, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the networked interconnection ofphysical things. IoT has amplified the ubiquity of the Internet byintegrating embedded systems into everyday life, leading to ahighly-distributed network of devices connecting with human beings aswell as other devices. IoT creates the ability for physical objects toremotely interact via the Internet. In recent years, IoT has gained muchattention around the world. The connection of physical objects to theInternet makes it possible to remotely access sensor data and to controlthe physical world from a distance. IoT devices utilize a number ofcommunication protocols to provide connectivity among devices. BLUETOOTHtechnology has emerged as a preferred communication protocol for manyIoT applications, including home and automobile.

Mobile devices, such as smartphones, typically feature built-inBLUETOOTH modules that allow users to “pair” with other BLUETOOTHdevices. Paired BLUETOOTH devices communicate over an unlicensed,globally available short-range frequency band of 2.4 GHz. BLUETOOTHtechnology can link devices in close proximity (e.g., a few inches) toover 100 meters at speeds that vary depending on the BLUETOOTH deviceclass and BLUETOOTH version.

Although Bluetooth facilitates effortless connections to vast amounts ofinformation, users are not aware that the technology is vulnerable to awide variety of security threats such as denial of service (“DoS”)attacks, eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, message modification,and resource misappropriation. BLUETOOTH popularity has given rise to aseries of security risks known as bluejacking, bluebugging, andbluesnarfing. In bluejacking, a nefarious person discovers andanonymously sends a business card to another BLUETOOTH device.Bluebugging is more serious, which allows another BLUETOOTH userconnectivity to issue commands on a remote mobile phone, such as to makecalls, send SMS text messages, or even eavesdrop on conversations.Bluesnarfing allows a BLUETOOTH user connectivity to other deviceswithin range in order to gain access to other user's contacts, addressbooks, calendar, and more. As users store more personal information onBLUETOOTH-enabled devices, the need to address potential security andprivacy threats becomes more pressing.

Every technology has its weaknesses. With the proliferation of IoTdevices, security continues to be an afterthought to the desirability ofdevices that are constantly connected. The age of connectedness usingmobile phones increases certain risks using BLUETOOTH and smart phones.Most of the existing threats come from the ignorance of users andimproper security implementation by some manufacturers. There areweaknesses in the current BLUETOOTH standards, particularly forimplementations with connected cars. Most security threats, however, aredue to improper implementation by manufacturers.

Actual attack artifacts, for example, malware, SMS or network-basedattacks, tend to become unique. This is problematic for security tools,which sometimes use the observation of the same suspicious artifact inmultiple locations as an indication of maliciousness, and for securitycompanies, which may prioritize the investigation of novel attacks andartifacts based on their prevalence. These same security tools used todetect maliciousness can be used by hackers intentionally to cause harmto the unsuspecting user.

A widely-known security tool such as Infotainment and Vehicle SystemForensics (“iVe”) can be used against vehicles that leave embeddedBLUETOOTH personal information. iVe is a vehicle system forensic toolthat acquires user data from vehicles, and allows forensic examiners andinvestigators to analyze the user data. Vehicle infotainment systemsstore a vast amount of the user-related data, including, for example,recent destinations, favorite locations, call logs, contact lists, SMSmessages, emails, pictures, videos, and the navigation history of thevehicle. iVe directly interfaces with vehicle systems viaspecially-designed hardware to acquire a full or partial binary imageand decode the data. It also has the capability to recover deletedinformation from either image types. iVe can decode and parse data suchas vehicle information, device information, navigation data, and vehicleevents. There are a vast number of available security forensic toolsranging from standalone packages to complex integrated tools. These verytools, although initially developed for criminal investigations, arealso used by hackers to commit crimes.

Most of the security problems related to computers are also valid forIoT smart phones and connected cars. As phones and other IoT deviceshave been equipped with more functions, more security issues arise. Mostusers do not recognize the serious consequences of leaving theirBLUETOOTH device or contact lists synced in publicly accessiblevehicles.

SUMMARY

Concepts and technologies disclosed herein are directed to temporaryBLUETOOTH pairing. According to one aspect of the concepts andtechnologies disclosed herein, a vehicle system can prompt a user toselect a pairing type from a group of available pairing types forpairing a user device with the vehicle system via BLUETOOTH. The groupof available pairing types can include a normal BLUETOOTH pairing typeand a temporary BLUETOOTH pairing type. The vehicle system can receive,from a user, selection of the temporary BLUETOOTH pairing type from thegroup of available pairing types. In response to receiving selection ofthe temporary BLUETOOTH pairing type, the vehicle system can prompt theuser to select a trigger for terminating a temporary pairing periodduring which the user device and the vehicle system are to betemporarily paired. The user device and the vehicle system can be pairedvia BLUETOOTH. The vehicle system can receive, from the user device,data associated with the user. The vehicle system can store, in avehicle memory associated with the vehicle system, the data associatedwith the user. The vehicle system can monitor for activation of thetrigger. In response to the trigger being activated, the vehicle systemcan terminate the temporary pairing period thereby unpairing the userdevice and the vehicle system. The vehicle system also can delete, fromthe vehicle memory, the data associated with the user.

In some embodiments, the trigger is or includes a temporary pairing timeselected from a number of pre-set times, such as one or more days, orcustom-defined by the user in any unit of time, such as minutes, hours,days, weeks, month, and/or years. In some other embodiments, the triggeris or includes a temporary pairing time that automatically expires whena vehicle associated with the vehicle system is powered off. Thisembodiment is particularly useful for scenarios in which a vehicledealer or other entity wants to demonstrate to the user features of thevehicle, including pairing the user device with the vehicle system todemonstrate, for example, how the vehicle system can receive from theuser device the user's contact list for use as part of the vehiclesystem's hands-free calling feature. In other embodiments, the triggeris or includes a scan by a vehicle scanning device. For example, whenthe vehicle is returned to a vehicle/rental sharing service or thevehicle is inventoried by a vehicle dealer after sale, lease turn-in,vehicle demonstration (e.g., test drive), or courtesy vehicle return tothe vehicle dealer, the vehicle dealer can use the vehicle scanningdevice to scan the vehicle. The vehicle scanning device can establish aBLUETOOTH connection with the vehicle system and can instruct thevehicle system to delete the data from the vehicle memory.

In some embodiments, the vehicle system can set an idle-time backuptrigger that specifies a maximum idle time between BLUETOOTH connectionsamong the user device and the vehicle system. Upon expiration of themaximum idle time, the vehicle system can delete, from the vehiclememory, the data associated with the user.

It should be appreciated that the above-described subject matter may beimplemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a computer process, acomputing system, or as an article of manufacture such as acomputer-readable storage medium. These and various other features willbe apparent from a reading of the following Detailed Description and areview of the associated drawings.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intendedthat this Summary be used to limit the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part ofthis disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an illustrativeoperating environment for various concepts disclosed herein.

FIGS. 2A-2J are graphical user interface (“GUI”) diagrams illustratingaspects of exemplary user interfaces, according to an illustrativeembodiment of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

FIGS. 3A-3B are flow diagrams illustrating aspects of a method forproviding temporary BLUETOOTH pairing, according to an illustrativeembodiment of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer systemcapable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example mobile device capableof implementing aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a network, according to an illustrativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

IoT devices allow users to be connected anytime and anywhere. In manyplaces around the world, conversing on a cell phone while driving isagainst the law. Therefore, the need to talk on the phone hands-free hasbecome a necessity. Car rental/sharing companies allow people torent/share cars, and many of these cars are equipped with BLUETOOTHconnectivity. The ability to pair their cell phone is attractive tocustomers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as otherswho would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type thanthey use day-to-day. The organization renting the cars may be acommercial business or the users may be business or leisure renters. Theauto dealership industry on the other hand, acquires previously ownedvehicles from many different outlets, including your typical ownertrade-ins and previously used rental vehicles. Whether a vehicle isbeing rented or purchased by a consumer, previous BLUETOOTH pairings canleave embedded BLUETOOTH information predisposed to security threats.

While the subject matter described herein may be presented, at times, inthe general context of program modules that execute in conjunction withthe execution of an operating system and application programs on acomputer system, those skilled in the art will recognize that otherimplementations may be performed in combination with other types ofprogram modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and/orother types of structures that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the subject matter described herein may be practicedwith other computer systems, including hand-held devices, vehicles,wireless devices, multiprocessor systems, distributed computing systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, routers, switches, other computingdevices described herein, and the like.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown byway of illustration specific embodiments or examples. Referring now tothe drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements throughoutthe several figures, aspects of temporary BLUETOOTH pairing will bedescribed.

Referring now to FIG. 1, aspects of an illustrative operatingenvironment 100 for various concepts disclosed herein will be described.It should be understood that the operating environment 100 and thevarious components thereof have been greatly simplified for purposes ofdiscussion. Accordingly, additional or alternative components of theoperating environment 100 can be made available without departing fromthe embodiments described herein.

The operating environment 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a vehicle 102.The vehicle 102 can be a car, truck, van, motorcycle, moped, go-kart,golf cart, or any other ground-based vehicle. In some embodiments, thevehicle 102 is a driver-operated vehicle. In some embodiments, thevehicle 102 is capable of operating in at least a partially autonomouscontrol mode. In some embodiments, the vehicle 102 can be a fullyautonomous vehicle. In some embodiments, the vehicle 102 can operate asa Level 3 or Level 4 vehicle as defined by the National Highway TrafficSafety Administration (“NHTSA”). The NHTSA defines a Level 3 vehicle asa limited self-driving automation vehicle that enables a driver to cedefull control of all safety-critical functions under certain traffic orenvironmental conditions and in those conditions to rely heavily on thevehicle to monitor for changes in those conditions requiring transitionback to driver control. The driver is expected to be available foroccasional control, but with sufficiently comfortable transition time.The GOOGLE car, available from GOOGLE, is an example of a limitedself-driving automation vehicle. The NHTSA defines a Level 4 vehicle asa full self-driving automation vehicle that is designed to perform allsafety-critical driving functions and monitor roadway conditions for anentire trip to a destination. Such a design anticipates that the driverwill provide destination or navigation input, but is not expected to beavailable for control at any time during the trip.

The vehicle 102 can accommodate one or more vehicle occupants 104-104N(also referred to herein as “users 104”, or in the singular as “user104”), each of whom can be a driver or a passenger of the vehicle 102and can be associated with one or more user devices 106-106N (alsoreferred to herein as “user devices 106”, or in the singular as “userdevice 106”). For purposes of simplified explanation, the vehicle 102will be described as accommodating the user 104 as a driver and his orher user device 106. Any number of occupants 104 and user devices 106are contemplated, and as such, the illustrated example should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

According to various embodiments, the functionality of the user device106 may be provided by one or more mobile telephones, smartphones,tablet computers, slate computers, smart watches, fitness devices, smartglasses, other wearable devices, mobile media playback devices, set topdevices, navigation devices, laptop computers, notebook computers,ultrabook computers, netbook computers, server computers, computers ofother form factors, computing devices of other form factors, othercomputing systems, other computing devices, Internet of Things (“IoT”)devices, other unmanaged devices, other managed devices, and/or thelike. It should be understood that the functionality of the user device106 can be provided by a single device, by two or more similar devices,and/or by two or more dissimilar devices.

Each of the user devices 106-106N is configured to communicate with thevehicle 102 over a BLUETOOTH connection 108-108N, respectively. Inparticular, the user device 106 can utilize a device BLUETOOTH interface(best shown in FIG. 5) to pair with a vehicle BLUETOOTH interface 110that enables the user device 106 to communicate over the BLUETOOTHconnection 108 with a BLUETOOTH-enabled vehicle system 112 (alsoreferred to herein as vehicle system 112) to exchange data 114. TheBLUETOOTH-enabled vehicle system 112 can store the data 114 receivedfrom the user device 106 in a vehicle memory 116.

The device BLUETOOTH interface of the user device 106 and the vehicleBLUETOOTH interface 110 can each include a hardware component thatincludes a BLUETOOTH radio and a software component that includesinstructions for the hardware component to execute to pair the userdevice 106 to the vehicle system 112 and to enable and maintain theBLUETOOTH connection 108. The BLUETOOTH connection 108 can be or caninclude a piconet in which one of the user device 106 and the vehiclesystem 112 functions as the master and the other as the slave. Oncepaired, the user device 106 and the vehicle system 112 can establish theBLUETOOTH connection 108 dynamically and automatically when within radioproximity. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the technicaldetails of normal BLUETOOTH pairing and BLUETOOTH connectivity amongpreviously paired devices. As such, additional details in this regardare not provided herein.

The vehicle system 112, in some embodiments, is or includes a hands-freetelephone system, a vehicle entertainment system (also commonly referredto as “an infotainment system”), a vehicle navigation system, a vehicleengine control unit (“ECU”), and/or another computing system of thevehicle 102. The vehicle system 112 may be retrofitted into the vehicle102 as aftermarket equipment or may be made available as standard oroptional original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) equipment of thevehicle 102.

The vehicle memory 116 can include, but is not limited to, random accessmemory (“RAM”), volatile and non-volatile memory devices, semi-permanentor permanent memory types; for example, tape-based media, optical media,flash media, hard disks, combinations thereof, and the like. While thevehicle memory 116 is illustrated as being separate from the vehiclesystem 112, the vehicle memory 116 can be integrated within the vehiclesystem 112, and, in some embodiments, can be provided, at least in part,as a removable memory embodied, for example, as a memory card, such as asecure digital card.

The data 114 stored in the vehicle memory 116 can include any dataassociated with the user 104 and/or the user device 106. The data 114can include data associated with the user's interaction with the vehiclesystem 112, such as data 114 shared by the user device 106 with thevehicle system 112 to enable certain functionality of the vehicle system112. For example, embodied as a hands-free telephone system, the vehiclesystem 112 might receive from the user device 106, the data 114,including name, address, telephone number, and/or other user identifyinginformation for the user 104 and/or for one or more of the user's 104contacts. The data 114 can additionally or alternatively includecalendar information, photos, videos, other files, email, SMS messages,MMS messages, other message types, social media information, phone callrecords, web browsing history, application-specific data, passwords,combinations thereof, and the like.

The data 114 stored in the vehicle memory 116 remains stored in thevehicle memory 116 until it is removed through a manually initiateddeletion process implemented by the vehicle system 112. For a number ofreasons, the user 104 might intentionally or unintentionally fail toinitiate the deletion process prior to parting with the vehicle 102. Forexample, the user 104 might have rented the vehicle 102 or otherwiseused the vehicle 102 as part of a vehicle sharing service (showncollectively as vehicle rental/sharing service 118) and might havepaired the user device 106 with the vehicle system 112 to take advantageof its features, and upon returning the vehicle 102 to the vehiclerental/sharing service 118, the user 104 might not delete the data 114stored in the vehicle memory 116. When the vehicle 102 is thenrented/shared with other users, the data 114 associated with the user104 might be exposed. As the vehicle 102 is rented/shared with otherusers and these users pair their user devices with the vehicle system112, the vehicle memory 116 might obtain their data and, over time, theuser's 104 data 114 will likely be exposed to several other people.While many people would disregard the data 114, it is possible that somepeople might take advantage of the data 114 for nefarious endeavors suchas identity theft, device cloning, or selling the data 114 for profit,or for potentially far worse, such as to seek out the home or work placeof a previous user with the intent to cause harm to that user and/ortheir family. In addition to vehicle rental/sharing services 118, thevehicle 102 might be part of a taxi service or othertransportation-as-a-service 120 offering, including, for example, UBERand LYFT. As a transportation-as-a-service 120 vehicle, the vehicle 102might be exposed to far more users 104, and as a result, the volume ofdata collected from these users only exacerbates the problems describedabove. As another example, the user 104 might own or lease the vehicle102 and might sell the vehicle 102 to a vehicle dealer 122 or mightreturn the vehicle 102 upon expiration of a lease agreement. The vehicledealer 122 might be unfamiliar with the deletion process required bycertain makes and/or models of vehicles, and so might resell the vehicle102 to another and/or might facilitate test drives during which featuresof the vehicle system 112 are demonstrated to the prospectivebuyer/leaser, including pairing the prospective buyer/leaser's devicewith the vehicle system 112, thereby storing in the vehicle memory 116potentially sensitive data associated with the prospective buyer/leaserand/or his or her device. The vehicle 102 might be used in other ways bythe vehicle dealer 122, including as a designated demonstration vehiclefor test drives or a courtesy vehicle when a customer drops their ownvehicle off for service.

The user 104 can enable a temporary pairing feature whereby the vehiclesystem 112 automatically deletes the data 114 from the vehicle memory116 in response to a trigger that can be set by the user 104. In someembodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, thetrigger is or includes a temporary pairing time selected from a numberof pre-set times, such as one or more days, or custom-defined by theuser 104 in any unit of time, such as minutes, hours, days, weeks,month, and/or years. An example GUI showing a temporary pairing timeselected by the user 104 as the trigger for the vehicle system 112 toautomatically delete the data 114 from the vehicle memory 116 is shownin FIG. 2F, described below. In some other embodiments, the trigger isor includes a temporary pairing time that automatically expires when thevehicle 102 is powered off. An example GUI showing a temporary pairingtime based upon the vehicle 102 being powered off is shown in FIG. 2G,described below. This embodiment is particularly useful for scenarios inwhich the vehicle dealer 122 wants to demonstrate to the user 104features of the vehicle 102, including pairing the user device 106 withthe vehicle 102 to demonstrate, for example, how the vehicle system 112can receive from the user device 106 the user's 104 contact list for useas part of the vehicle system's 112 hands-free calling feature. In otherembodiments, the trigger is or includes a scan by a vehicle scanningdevice 124. For example, when the vehicle 102 is returned to thevehicle/rental sharing service 118 or the vehicle is inventoried by thevehicle dealer 122 after sale, lease turn-in, vehicle demonstration(e.g., test drive), or courtesy vehicle return to the vehicle dealer122, the vehicle dealer 122 can use the vehicle scanning device 124 toscan the vehicle 102. The vehicle scanning device 124 can establish aBLUETOOTH connection with the vehicle system 112 via the vehicleBLUETOOTH interface 110 and can instruct the vehicle system 112 todelete the data 114 from the vehicle memory 116.

It should be understood that some implementations of the operatingenvironment 100 can include a different number of vehicles 102, users104, user devices 106, BLUETOOTH connections 108, vehicle BLUETOOTHinterfaces 110, vehicle systems 112, data 114, vehicle memory 116,vehicle rental/sharing services 118, transportation-as-a-serviceofferings 120, vehicle dealers 122, and/or vehicle scanning devices 124than shown in the illustrated embodiment. Thus, the illustratedembodiment should be understood as being illustrative, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

FIGS. 2A-2J are GUI diagrams of exemplary user interfaces forimplementing aspects of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein,according to illustrative embodiments. The colors, shapes, fonts,graphics, images, and other design elements of the GUI diagrams areintended merely as examples to aid in explanation of some featuresdisclosed herein. Accordingly, the design of the GUI diagrams should notbe construed as being limiting in any way.

Turning first to FIG. 2A, a vehicle system display 200 of the vehiclesystem 112 is shown. In the illustrated example, the vehicle systemdisplay 200 presents a vehicle system GUI 202 that includes iconsrepresentative of some functions offered by the vehicle system 112. Theillustrated icons include audio, phone, navigation, and applications. Itshould be understood that the functions represented via the illustratedicons should not be construed as limiting in any way the functions thatcan be provided by the vehicle system 112 disclosed herein. The user 104is shown selecting the phone icon, and in response, the vehicle systemGUI 202 presents an “Add New Phone” icon as shown in FIG. 2B in whichthe user 104 is shown selecting the “Add New Phone” icon. In response toreceiving the selection of the “Add New Phone” icon, the vehicle systemGUI 202 presents, as shown in FIG. 2C, a message asking the user 104 tosearch for a vehicle identifier “New Vehicle” on their phone (in thiscase the user device 106). FIG. 2C also shows a user device display 204of the user device 106. In the illustrated example, the user devicedisplay 204 presents a user device GUI 206. The user device GUI 206includes a radio button that allows the user 104 to enable/disableBLUETOOTH functionality on the user device 106. The user device GUI 206also includes a list of devices with which the user device 106 iscurrently paired but not connected. In the illustrated example, the user104 is shown selecting the vehicle identifier—“New Vehicle”—from a listof new devices the user device 106 has found.

Turning to FIG. 2D, the vehicle system GUI 202 presents a message tonotify the user 104 that user device identifier “My Phone”, which isrepresentative of the user device 106, is trying to pair with thevehicle system 112. In the illustrated embodiment, a passkey is shownrepresented as a six digit security code, although other passkey typesknown to those skilled in the art are contemplated. The passkey is usedto confirm the devices to be paired—that is, the user device 106 and thevehicle system 112 in this example. The user 104 is shown selecting“Yes” to confirm that the security code presented on the vehicle systemGUI 202 is the same as the security code presented on the user deviceGUI 206. Alternatively, the user 104 could have selected “Pair” from theuser device GUI 206 to proceed to the next screen as represented in FIG.2E.

FIG. 2E shows the vehicle system GUI 202 and the user device GUI 206both presenting a prompt to select a pairing type. The prompt includesselectable options for “Normal Pairing” and “Temporary Pairing” with the“Temporary Pairing” option illustrated as being selected by the user 104via the vehicle system GUI 202. Alternatively, the user could haveselected one of the selectable options via the user device GUI 206. The“Normal Pairing” option instructs the user device 106 and the vehiclesystem 112 to complete the BLUETOOTH pairing process such that the userdevice 106 and the vehicle system 112 are paired until manuallyunpaired. The “Temporary Pairing” option, however, allows the user 104to enable a temporary pairing feature whereby the vehicle system 112automatically deletes the data 114 from the vehicle memory 116 inresponse to a trigger that can be set by the user 104.

Turning now to FIG. 2F, the user device GUI 206 instructs the user 104to follow the instructions on the “New Vehicle”—that is, the vehiclesystem GUI 202 on the vehicle system display 200. The vehicle system GUI202 allows the user 104 to select a temporary pairing time from a numberof pre-set times, such as one or more days, or custom-defined by theuser 104 in any unit of time, such as minutes, hours, days, weeks,month, and/or years. In another embodiment, the user device GUI 206might additionally or alternatively present the same or similar optionsfor the user 104 to select a temporary pairing time. In the illustratedexample, the user 104 is shown inputting a custom-defined temporarypairing time as “5 hours.”

Turning now to FIG. 2G, other options for setting the temporary pairingtime are shown. In particular, the vehicle system GUI 202 presents anoption to allow temporary pairing of the user device 106 and the vehiclesystem 112 to automatically expire when the vehicle 102 is powered off.This option is particularly useful for scenarios in which the vehicledealer 122 wants to demonstrate to the user 104 features of the vehicle102, including pairing the user device 106 with the vehicle 102 todemonstrate, for example, how the vehicle system 112 can receive fromthe user device 106 the user's 104 contact list for use as part of thevehicle system's 112 hands-free calling feature. The vehicle system GUI202 also presents an option to allow temporary pairing of the userdevice 106 and the vehicle system 112 until the vehicle 102 is returnedand scanned such as by the vehicle scanning device 124. For example,when the vehicle 102 is returned to the vehicle/rental sharing service118 or the vehicle is inventoried by the vehicle dealer 122 after sale,lease turn-in, vehicle demonstration (e.g., test drive), or courtesyvehicle return to the vehicle dealer 122, the vehicle dealer 122 can usethe vehicle scanning device 124 to scan the vehicle 102. If this optionis selected, the vehicle scanning device 124 can establish a BLUETOOTHconnection with the vehicle system 112 via the vehicle BLUETOOTHinterface 110 and can instruct the vehicle system 112 to delete the data114 from the vehicle memory 116. In FIG. 211, the vehicle system GUI 202and the user device GUI 206 both present a message to inform the user104 that the pairing was successful.

Turning now to FIG. 21, the temporary pairing time has expired therebytriggering deletion of the data 114 associated with the user 104 and theuser device 106. The vehicle system GUI 202 and the user device GUI 206both notify the user 104 that the data 114 will be deleted, and in FIG.2J both the vehicle system GUI 202 and the user device GUI 206 notifythe user 104 that “My Phone” (i.e., the user device 106) and “NewVehicle” (i.e., the vehicle system 112 in the vehicle 102) have beenunpaired and all data 114 associated with the user device 106 has beendeleted.

Turning now to FIGS. 3A-3B, flow diagrams illustrating aspects of amethod 300 for providing temporary BLUETOOTH pairing will be described,according to an illustrative embodiment. It should be understood thatthe operations of the methods disclosed herein are not necessarilypresented in any particular order and that performance of some or all ofthe operations in an alternative order(s) is possible and iscontemplated. The operations have been presented in the demonstratedorder for ease of description and illustration. Operations may be added,omitted, and/or performed simultaneously, without departing from thescope of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

It also should be understood that the methods disclosed herein can beended at any time and need not be performed in its entirety. Some or alloperations of the methods, and/or substantially equivalent operations,can be performed by execution of computer-readable instructions includedon a computer storage media, as defined herein. The term“computer-readable instructions,” and variants thereof, as used herein,is used expansively to include routines, applications, applicationmodules, program modules, programs, components, data structures,algorithms, and the like. Computer-readable instructions can beimplemented on various system configurations including single-processoror multiprocessor systems or devices, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, personal computers, hand-held computing devices,microprocessor-based, programmable consumer electronics, combinationsthereof, and the like.

Thus, it should be appreciated that the logical operations describedherein are implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts orprogram modules running on a computing system and/or (2) asinterconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within thecomputing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent onthe performance and other requirements of the computing system.Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred tovariously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules.These states, operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may beimplemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic,and any combination thereof. As used herein, the phrase “cause aprocessor to perform operations” and variants thereof is used to referto causing one or more processors of the user device 106, the vehiclesystem 112, and/or one or more other computing systems and/or devicesdisclosed herein to perform operations.

For purposes of illustrating and describing some of the concepts of thepresent disclosure, the methods disclosed herein are described as beingperformed, at least in part, by the user device 106 and/or the vehiclesystem 112, as labeled, via execution of one or more software modules.It should be understood that additional and/or alternative devices canprovide the functionality described herein via execution of one or moremodules, applications, and/or other software. Thus, the illustratedembodiments are illustrative, and should not be viewed as being limitingin any way.

The method 300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A-3B andadditional reference to FIG. 1 and the user interface diagrams FIGS.2A-2J. The method 300 begins and proceeds to operation 302, where thevehicle system 112 receives input to add a new device for BLUETOOTHpairing. An example of this is shown in FIG. 2B, wherein the user 104selects an “Add New Phone” icon from the vehicle system GUI 202. In someembodiments, the vehicle system 112 does not include a vehicle systemdisplay 200 or the vehicle system display 200 is otherwise unable topresent icons such as shown in the illustrated example. In theseembodiments, the input to add a new device for BLUETOOTH pairing can beprovided via buttons, dials, or other input mechanisms provided by thevehicle system 112. It is contemplated that the option to add a newdevice can be provided via the user device GUI 206. In any case, thevehicle system 112 receives the input at operation 302 and the method300 proceeds to operation 304.

At operation 304, the vehicle system 112 prompts the user 104 to searchfor a vehicle identifier presented on the user device display 204 of theuser device 106, and the user device 106 presents on the user devicedisplay 204 the vehicle identifier associated with the vehicle system112 of the vehicle 102. A non-limiting example of operation 304 is shownin FIG. 2C. From operation 304, the method 300 proceeds to operation306, where the user device 106 receives selection of the vehicleidentifier also as shown in FIG. 2C.

From operation 306, the method 300 proceeds to operation 308, where thevehicle system 112 presents a security code to the user 104 and the userdevice 106 likewise presents the security code to the user 104, as shownin FIG. 2D. From operation 308, the method 300 proceeds to operation310, where the vehicle system 112 and/or the user device 106 receivesinput confirming the security code presented at operation 308, as alsoshown in FIG. 2D.

From operation 310, the method 300 proceeds to operation 312, where thevehicle system 112 and/or the user device 106 prompts the user 104 toselect a pairing type—either a normal pairing or a temporary pairing—asshown in FIG. 2E. From operation 312, the method 300 proceeds tooperation 314, where the vehicle system 112 and/or the user device 106receives a selection by the user 104 of a pairing type, as also shown inFIG. 2E. From operation 314, the method 300 proceeds to operation 316,where the vehicle system 112 and/or the user device 106 determines whichuser selection was made—normal pairing or temporary pairing. In responseto determining that the normal pairing option was selected, the method300 proceeds to operation 318, as shown in FIG. 3B. At operation 318,the vehicle system 112 and the user device 106 complete the normalBLUETOOTH pairing process such that the user device 106 and the vehiclesystem 112 are paired until manually unpaired. From operation 318, themethod 300 proceeds to operation 320, where the vehicle system 112and/or the user device 106 notifies the user 104 that pairing wassuccessful, as shown in FIG. 211. From operation 320, the method 300proceeds to operation 322, where the method 300 ends.

Returning to FIG. 3A, and particularly to operation 316, if the vehiclesystem 112 and/or the user device 106 determines that the temporarypairing option was selected, the method 300 proceeds to operation 324,as shown in FIG. 3B. At operation 324, the vehicle system 112 and/or theuser device 106 prompts the user 104 to select a trigger for terminatingthe temporary pairing period. In some embodiments, the trigger is orincludes a temporary pairing time selected from a number of pre-settimes, such as one or more days, or custom-defined by the user 104 inany unit of time, such as minutes, hours, days, weeks, month, and/oryears, as shown in FIG. 2F. In some other embodiments, the trigger is orincludes a temporary pairing time that automatically expires when thevehicle 102 is powered off, as shown in FIG. 2G. In other embodiments,the trigger is or includes a scan by the vehicle scanning device 124.From operation 324, the method 300 proceeds to operation 326, where thevehicle system 112 and/or the user device 106 receives selection of atrigger for terminating the temporary pairing period.

From operation 326, the method 300 proceeds to operation 328, where thevehicle system 112 and the user device 106 performs a temporaryBLUETOOTH pairing process that can be terminated upon activation of thetrigger selected at operation 326. From operation 328, the method 300proceeds to operation 330, where the vehicle system 112 and/or the userdevice 106 monitors for trigger activation. From operation 330, themethod 300 proceeds to operation 332, where the vehicle system 112and/or the user device 106 determines whether the trigger has beenactivated. If the trigger has not been activated, the method 300 returnsto operation 330, where the vehicle system 112 and/or the user device106 continues to monitor for trigger activation. When the trigger hasbeen activated, the method 300 proceeds to operation 334, where thevehicle system 112 deletes all data 114 associated with the user device106 from the vehicle memory 116. If the user device 106 determines thatthe trigger has been activated, the user device 106 can generate andsend a message to the vehicle system 112 to notify the vehicle system112 that the trigger has been activated. Alternatively, the vehiclesystem 112 can make this determination without intervention from theuser device 106. From operation 334, the method 300 proceeds tooperation 336, where the vehicle system 112 and/or the user device 106notifies the user 104 that all data 114 associated with the user device106 has been deleted from the vehicle memory 116. From operation 336,the method 300 proceeds to operation 322, where the method 300 ends.

In some embodiments, the vehicle system 112 can implement an idle-timebackup trigger. The idle time backup trigger can specify a maximum idletime between BLUETOOTH connections. In other words, after the userdevice 106 and the vehicle system 112 are paired, an idle timer can beset to the maximum idle time. If the maximum idle time is reached, thevehicle system 112 can automatically delete all data 114 associated withthe user device 106 from the vehicle memory 116. This provides afail-safe in the event the vehicle 102 is sold by the user 104, or theuser 104 is otherwise unavailable to access the vehicle system 112 tomanually delete the data 114. By way of example, the idle timer might beset to 180 days, such that if the user device 106 is not reconnected viaBLUETOOTH to the vehicle system 112 within that time, the vehicle system112 will automatically delete the data 114.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system 400 configuredto perform various operations disclosed herein. The computer system 400includes a processing unit 402, a memory 404, one or more user interfacedevices 406, one or more input/output (“I/O”) devices 408, and one ormore network devices 410, each of which is operatively connected to asystem bus 412. The system bus 412 enables bi-directional communicationbetween the processing unit 402, the memory 404, the user interfacedevices 406, the I/O devices 408, and the network devices 410. In someembodiments, the user device 106, the vehicle system 112, one or morecomponents thereof, some combination thereof is/are configured, at leastin part, like the computer system 400. It should be understood, however,that the user device 106 and/or the vehicle system 112 may includeadditional functionality or include less functionality than nowdescribed.

The processing unit 402 might be a standard central processor thatperforms arithmetic and logical operations, a more specific purposeprogrammable logic controller (“PLC”), a programmable gate array, orother type of processor known to those skilled in the art and suitablefor controlling the operation of the computer system 400. Processingunits are generally known, and therefore are not described in furtherdetail herein.

The memory 404 communicates with the processing unit 402 via the systembus 412. In some embodiments, the memory 404 is operatively connected toa memory controller (not shown) that enables communication with theprocessing unit 402 via the system bus 412. The illustrated memory 404includes an operating system 414 and one or more applications 416. Insome embodiments, the memory 404 includes the vehicle memory 116.

The operating system 414 can include, but is not limited to, members ofthe WINDOWS, WINDOWS CE, WINDOWS MOBILE, and/or WINDOWS PHONE familiesof operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, the LINUX family ofoperating systems, the SYMBIAN family of operating systems from SYMBIANLIMITED, the BREW family of operating systems from QUALCOMM CORPORATION,the MAC OS and/or iOS families of operating systems from APPLE INC., theFREEBSD family of operating systems, the SOLARIS family of operatingsystems from ORACLE CORPORATION, other operating systems such asproprietary operating systems, and the like.

The user interface devices 406 may include one or more devices withwhich a user accesses the computer system 400. The user interfacedevices 406 may include, but are not limited to, computers, servers,personal digital assistants, telephones (e.g., cellular, IP, orlandline), or any suitable computing devices. The I/O devices 408 enablea user to interface with the program modules. In one embodiment, the I/Odevices 408 are operatively connected to an I/O controller (not shown)that enables communication with the processing unit 402 via the systembus 412. The I/O devices 408 may include one or more input devices, suchas, but not limited to, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or anelectronic stylus. Further, the I/O devices 408 may include one or moreoutput devices, such as, but not limited to, a display screen or aprinter. In some embodiments, the I/O devices 408 include the vehicleBLUETOOTH interface 110.

The network devices 410 enable the computer system 400 to communicatewith other networks or remote systems via a network 418. Examples of thenetwork devices 410 include, but are not limited to, a modem, a radiofrequency (“RF”) or infrared (“IR”) transceiver, a telephonic interface,a bridge, a router, or a network card. The network 418 may include awireless network such as, but not limited to, a WLAN such as a WI-FInetwork, a WWAN, a wireless PAN (“WPAN”) such as BLUETOOTH, or awireless MAN (“WMAN”). Alternatively, the network 418 may be a wirednetwork such as, but not limited to, a WAN such as the Internet, a LANsuch as the Ethernet, a wired PAN, or a wired MAN.

Turning now to FIG. 5, an illustrative mobile device 500 and componentsthereof will be described. In some embodiments, the user device 106and/or the vehicle system 112 described above with reference to FIG. 1can be configured as and/or can have an architecture similar oridentical to the mobile device 500 described herein in FIG. 5. It shouldbe understood, however, that the user device 106 and/or the vehiclesystem 112 may or may not include the functionality described hereinwith reference to FIG. 5. While connections are not shown between thevarious components illustrated in FIG. 5, it should be understood thatsome, none, or all of the components illustrated in FIG. 5 can beconfigured to interact with one another to carry out various devicefunctions. In some embodiments, the components are arranged so as tocommunicate via one or more busses (not shown). Thus, it should beunderstood that FIG. 5 and the following description are intended toprovide a general understanding of a suitable environment in whichvarious aspects of embodiments can be implemented, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the mobile device 500 can include a display502 for displaying data. According to various embodiments, the display502 can be configured to display network connection information, variousGUI elements, text, images, video, virtual keypads and/or keyboards,messaging data, notification messages, metadata, Internet content,device status, time, date, calendar data, device preferences, map andlocation data, combinations thereof, and/or the like. The mobile device500 also can include a processor 504 and a memory or other data storagedevice (“memory”) 506. The processor 504 can be configured to processdata and/or can execute computer-executable instructions stored in thememory 506. The computer-executable instructions executed by theprocessor 504 can include, for example, an operating system 508, one ormore applications 510, other computer-executable instructions stored inthe memory 506, or the like. In some embodiments, the applications 510also can include a UI application (not illustrated in FIG. 5).

The UI application can interface with the operating system 508 tofacilitate user interaction with functionality and/or data stored at themobile device 500 and/or stored elsewhere. In some embodiments, theoperating system 508 can include a member of the SYMBIAN OS family ofoperating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, a member of the WINDOWS MOBILEOS and/or WINDOWS PHONE OS families of operating systems from MICROSOFTCORPORATION, a member of the PALM WEBOS family of operating systems fromHEWLETT PACKARD CORPORATION, a member of the BLACKBERRY OS family ofoperating systems from RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED, a member of the IOSfamily of operating systems from APPLE INC., a member of the ANDROID OSfamily of operating systems from GOOGLE INC., and/or other operatingsystems. These operating systems are merely illustrative of somecontemplated operating systems that may be used in accordance withvarious embodiments of the concepts and technologies described hereinand therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The UI application can be executed by the processor 504 to aid a user indata communications, entering/deleting data, entering and setting userIDs and passwords for device access, configuring settings, manipulatingcontent and/or settings, multimode interaction, interacting with otherapplications 510, and otherwise facilitating user interaction with theoperating system 508, the applications 510, and/or other types orinstances of data 512 that can be stored at the mobile device 500.

The applications 510, the data 512, and/or portions thereof can bestored in the memory 506 and/or in a firmware 514, and can be executedby the processor 504. The firmware 514 also can store code for executionduring device power up and power down operations. It can be appreciatedthat the firmware 514 can be stored in a volatile or non-volatile datastorage device including, but not limited to, the memory 506 and/or aportion thereof.

The mobile device 500 also can include an input/output (“I/O”) interface516. The I/O interface 516 can be configured to support the input/outputof data such as location information, presence status information, userIDs, passwords, and application initiation (start-up) requests. In someembodiments, the I/O interface 516 can include a hardwire connectionsuch as a universal serial bus (“USB”) port, a mini-USB port, amicro-USB port, an audio jack, a PS2 port, an IEEE 1394 (“FIREWIRE”)port, a serial port, a parallel port, an Ethernet (RJ45) port, an RJ11port, a proprietary port, combinations thereof, or the like. In someembodiments, the mobile device 500 can be configured to synchronize withanother device to transfer content to and/or from the mobile device 500.In some embodiments, the mobile device 500 can be configured to receiveupdates to one or more of the applications 510 via the I/O interface516, though this is not necessarily the case. In some embodiments, theI/O interface 516 accepts I/O devices such as keyboards, keypads, mice,interface tethers, printers, plotters, external storage,touch/multi-touch screens, touch pads, trackballs, joysticks,microphones, remote control devices, displays, projectors, medicalequipment (e.g., stethoscopes, heart monitors, and other health metricmonitors), modems, routers, external power sources, docking stations,combinations thereof, and the like. It should be appreciated that theI/O interface 516 may be used for communications between the mobiledevice 500 and a network device or local device.

The mobile device 500 also can include a communications component 518.The communications component 518 can be configured to interface with theprocessor 504 to facilitate wired and/or wireless communications withone or more networks. In some embodiments, the communications component518 includes a multimode communications subsystem for facilitatingcommunications via the cellular network and one or more other networks.

The communications component 518, in some embodiments, includes one ormore transceivers. The one or more transceivers, if included, can beconfigured to communicate over the same and/or different wirelesstechnology standards with respect to one another. For example, in someembodiments, one or more of the transceivers of the communicationscomponent 518 may be configured to communicate using GSM, CDMAONE,CDMA2000, LTE, and various other 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and greatergeneration technology standards. Moreover, the communications component518 may facilitate communications over various channel access methods(which may or may not be used by the aforementioned standards)including, but not limited to, TDMA, FDMA, W-CDMA, OFDM, SDMA, and thelike.

In addition, the communications component 518 may facilitate datacommunications using GPRS, EDGE, the HSPA protocol family includingHSDPA, EUL or otherwise termed HSUPA, HSPA+, and various other currentand future wireless data access standards. In the illustratedembodiment, the communications component 518 can include a firsttransceiver (“TxRx”) 520A that can operate in a first communicationsmode (e.g., GSM). The communications component 518 also can include anN^(th) transceiver (“TxRx”) 520N that can operate in a secondcommunications mode relative to the first transceiver 520A (e.g., UMTS).While two transceivers 520A-520N (hereinafter collectively and/orgenerically referred to as “transceivers 520”) are shown in FIG. 5, itshould be appreciated that less than two, two, and/or more than twotransceivers 520 can be included in the communications component 518.

The communications component 518 also can include an alternativetransceiver (“Alt TxRx”) 522 for supporting other types and/or standardsof communications. According to various contemplated embodiments, thealternative transceiver 522 can communicate using various communicationstechnologies such as, for example, WI-FI, WIMAX, BLUETOOTH, infrared,infrared data association (“IRDA”), near field communications (“NFC”),other RF technologies, combinations thereof, and the like. In someembodiments, the communications component 518 also can facilitatereception from terrestrial radio networks, digital satellite radionetworks, internet-based radio service networks, combinations thereof,and the like. The communications component 518 can process data from anetwork such as the Internet, an intranet, a broadband network, a WI-FIhotspot, an Internet service provider (“ISP”), a digital subscriber line(“DSL”) provider, a broadband provider, combinations thereof, or thelike.

The mobile device 500 also can include one or more sensors 524. Thesensors 524 can include temperature sensors, light sensors, air qualitysensors, movement sensors, accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes,infrared sensors, orientation sensors, noise sensors, microphonesproximity sensors, combinations thereof, and/or the like. Additionally,audio capabilities for the mobile device 500 may be provided by an audioI/O component 526. The audio I/O component 526 of the mobile device 500can include one or more speakers for the output of audio signals, one ormore microphones for the collection and/or input of audio signals,and/or other audio input and/or output devices.

The illustrated mobile device 500 also can include a subscriber identitymodule (“SIM”) system 528. The SIM system 528 can include a universalSIM (“USIM”), a universal integrated circuit card (“UICC”) and/or otheridentity devices. The SIM system 528 can include and/or can be connectedto or inserted into an interface such as a slot interface 530. In someembodiments, the slot interface 530 can be configured to acceptinsertion of other identity cards or modules for accessing various typesof networks. Additionally, or alternatively, the slot interface 530 canbe configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards. Becauseother devices and/or modules for identifying users and/or the mobiledevice 500 are contemplated, it should be understood that theseembodiments are illustrative, and should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The mobile device 500 also can include an image capture and processingsystem 532 (“image system”). The image system 532 can be configured tocapture or otherwise obtain photos, videos, and/or other visualinformation. As such, the image system 532 can include cameras, lenses,charge-coupled devices (“CCDs”), combinations thereof, or the like. Themobile device 500 may also include a video system 534. The video system534 can be configured to capture, process, record, modify, and/or storevideo content. Photos and videos obtained using the image system 532 andthe video system 534, respectively, may be added as message content toan MMS message, email message, and sent to another device. The videoand/or photo content also can be shared with other devices via varioustypes of data transfers via wired and/or wireless communication devicesas described herein.

The mobile device 500 also can include one or more location components536. The location components 536 can be configured to send and/orreceive signals to determine a geographic location of the mobile device500. According to various embodiments, the location components 536 cansend and/or receive signals from global positioning system (“GPS”)devices, assisted-GPS (“A-GPS”) devices, WI-FI/WIMAX and/or cellularnetwork triangulation data, combinations thereof, and the like. Thelocation component 536 also can be configured to communicate with thecommunications component 518 to retrieve triangulation data fordetermining a location of the mobile device 500. In some embodiments,the location component 536 can interface with cellular network nodes,telephone lines, satellites, location transmitters and/or beacons,wireless network transmitters and receivers, combinations thereof, andthe like. In some embodiments, the location component 536 can includeand/or can communicate with one or more of the sensors 524 such as acompass, an accelerometer, and/or a gyroscope to determine theorientation of the mobile device 500. Using the location component 536,the mobile device 500 can generate and/or receive data to identify itsgeographic location, or to transmit data used by other devices todetermine the location of the mobile device 500. The location component536 may include multiple components for determining the location and/ororientation of the mobile device 500.

The illustrated mobile device 500 also can include a power source 538.The power source 538 can include one or more batteries, power supplies,power cells, and/or other power subsystems including alternating current(“AC”) and/or direct current (“DC”) power devices. The power source 538also can interface with an external power system or charging equipmentvia a power I/O component 540. Because the mobile device 500 can includeadditional and/or alternative components, the above embodiment should beunderstood as being illustrative of one possible operating environmentfor various embodiments of the concepts and technologies describedherein. The described embodiment of the mobile device 500 isillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

As used herein, communication media includes computer-executableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and includes any delivery media. The term “modulated datasignal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristicschanged or set in a manner as to encode information in the signal. Byway of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wiredmedia such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wirelessmedia such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within thescope of computer-readable media.

By way of example, and not limitation, computer storage media mayinclude volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules,or other data. For example, computer media includes, but is not limitedto, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”), HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed bythe mobile device 500 or other devices or computers described herein,such as the computer system 500 described above with reference to FIG.5. For purposes of the claims, the phrase “computer-readable storagemedium” and variations thereof, does not include waves, signals, and/orother transitory and/or intangible communication media, per se.

Encoding the software modules presented herein also may transform thephysical structure of the computer-readable media presented herein. Thespecific transformation of physical structure may depend on variousfactors, in different implementations of this description. Examples ofsuch factors may include, but are not limited to, the technology used toimplement the computer-readable media, whether the computer-readablemedia is characterized as primary or secondary storage, and the like.For example, if the computer-readable media is implemented assemiconductor-based memory, the software disclosed herein may be encodedon the computer-readable media by transforming the physical state of thesemiconductor memory. For example, the software may transform the stateof transistors, capacitors, or other discrete circuit elementsconstituting the semiconductor memory. The software also may transformthe physical state of such components in order to store data thereupon.

As another example, the computer-readable media disclosed herein may beimplemented using magnetic or optical technology. In suchimplementations, the software presented herein may transform thephysical state of magnetic or optical media, when the software isencoded therein. These transformations may include altering the magneticcharacteristics of particular locations within given magnetic media.These transformations also may include altering the physical features orcharacteristics of particular locations within given optical media, tochange the optical characteristics of those locations. Othertransformations of physical media are possible without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present description, with the foregoingexamples provided only to facilitate this discussion.

In light of the above, it should be appreciated that many types ofphysical transformations may take place in the mobile device 500 inorder to store and execute the software components presented herein. Itis also contemplated that the mobile device 500 may not include all ofthe components shown in FIG. 5, may include other components that arenot explicitly shown in FIG. 5, or may utilize an architecturecompletely different than that shown in FIG. 5.

Turning now to FIG. 6, details of a network 600 are illustrated,according to an illustrative embodiment. The network 600 includes acellular network 602, a packet data network 604, and a circuit switchednetwork 606 (e.g., a public switched telephone network).

The cellular network 602 includes various components such as, but notlimited to, base transceiver stations (“BTSs”), Node-Bs or e-Node-Bs,base station controllers (“BSCs”), radio network controllers (“RNCs”),mobile switching centers (“MSC s”), mobility management entities(“MMEs”), short message service centers (“SMSCs”), multimedia messagingservice centers (“MMSCs”), home location registers (“HLRs”), homesubscriber servers (“HSSs”), visitor location registers (“VLRs”),charging platforms, billing platforms, voicemail platforms, GPRS corenetwork components, location service nodes, and the like. The cellularnetwork 602 also includes radios and nodes for receiving andtransmitting voice, data, and combinations thereof to and from radiotransceivers, networks, the packet data network 604, and the circuitswitched network 606.

A mobile communications device 608, such as, for example, a cellulartelephone, a user equipment, a mobile terminal, a PDA, a laptopcomputer, a handheld computer, the user device 106, and combinationsthereof, can be operatively connected to the cellular network 602. Thecellular network 602 can be configured as a 2G GSM network and canprovide data communications via GPRS and/or EDGE. Additionally, oralternatively, the cellular network 602 can be configured as a 3G UMTSnetwork and can provide data communications via the HSPA protocolfamily, for example, HSDPA, EUL (also referred to as HSUPA), and HSPA+.The cellular network 602 also is compatible with 4G mobilecommunications standards such as LTE, or the like, as well as evolvedand future mobile standards.

The packet data network 604 includes various devices, for example,servers, computers, databases, and other devices in communication withone another, as is generally known. In some embodiments, the packet datanetwork 604 is or includes one or more WI-FI networks, each of which caninclude one or more WI-FI access points, routers, switches, and otherWI-FI network components. The packet data network 604 devices areaccessible via one or more network links. The servers often storevarious files that are provided to a requesting device such as, forexample, a computer, a terminal, a smartphone, or the like. Typically,the requesting device includes software (a “browser”) for executing aweb page in a format readable by the browser or other software. Otherfiles and/or data may be accessible via “links” in the retrieved files,as is generally known. In some embodiments, the packet data network 604includes or is in communication with the Internet. The circuit switchednetwork 606 includes various hardware and software for providing circuitswitched communications. The circuit switched network 606 may include,or may be, what is often referred to as a plain old telephone system(“POTS”). The functionality of a circuit switched network 606 or othercircuit-switched network are generally known and will not be describedherein in detail.

The illustrated cellular network 602 is shown in communication with thepacket data network 604 and a circuit switched network 606, though itshould be appreciated that this is not necessarily the case. One or moreInternet-capable devices 610, for example, the user device 106, thevehicle system 112, a PC, a laptop, a portable device, or anothersuitable device, can communicate with one or more cellular networks 602,and devices connected thereto, through the packet data network 604. Italso should be appreciated that the Internet-capable device 610 cancommunicate with the packet data network 604 through the circuitswitched network 606, the cellular network 602, and/or via othernetworks (not illustrated).

As illustrated, a communications device 612, for example, a telephone,facsimile machine, modem, computer, or the like, can be in communicationwith the circuit switched network 606, and therethrough to the packetdata network 604 and/or the cellular network 602. It should beappreciated that the communications device 612 can be anInternet-capable device, and can be substantially similar to theInternet-capable device 610.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that concepts andtechnologies for temporary BLUETOOTH pairing have been disclosed herein.Although the subject matter presented herein has been described inlanguage specific to computer structural features, methodological andtransformative acts, specific computing machinery, and computer-readablemedia, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appendedclaims is not necessarily limited to the specific features, acts, ormedia described herein. Rather, the specific features, acts and mediumsare disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications andchanges may be made to the subject matter described herein withoutfollowing the example embodiments and applications illustrated anddescribed, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of thesubject disclosure.

We claim:
 1. A system comprising: a processor; and memory havingcomputer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprisingenabling a temporary pairing feature for pairing the system with adevice, wherein the temporary pairing feature comprises a trigger tocause deletion of data associated with the device after the system andthe device are unpaired, wherein the trigger comprises a scan by avehicle scanning device, pairing, using the temporary pairing feature,the system with the device, receiving, from the device, the dataassociated with the device, storing, in the memory, the data associatedwith the device, in response to the trigger, unpairing the system andthe device, and deleting, from the memory, the data associated with thedevice.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the scan by the vehiclescanning device is performed responsive to a vehicle being returned to avehicle sharing service.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the scan bythe vehicle scanning device is performed responsive to a vehicle beingreturned to a rental service.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the scanby the vehicle scanning device is performed responsive to a vehiclebeing inventoried after a sale, a lease turn-in, or a courtesy vehiclereturn.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the scan by the vehiclescanning device is performed responsive to a vehicle being returnedafter a vehicle demonstration.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein thescan by the vehicle scanning device is performed responsive to a vehiclebeing used for a transportation-as-a-service service.
 7. Acomputer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructionsstored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a system, cause thesystem to perform operations comprising: enabling a temporary pairingfeature for pairing the system with a device, wherein the temporarypairing feature comprises a trigger to cause deletion of data associatedwith the device after the system and the device are unpaired, whereinthe trigger comprises a scan by a vehicle scanning device; pairing,using the temporary pairing feature, the system with the device;receiving, from the device, the data associated with the device;storing, in the computer-readable storage medium, the data associatedwith the device; in response to the trigger, unpairing the system andthe device, and deleting, from the computer-readable storage medium, thedata associated with the device.
 8. The computer-readable storage mediumof claim 7, wherein the scan by the vehicle scanning device is performedresponsive to a vehicle being returned to a vehicle sharing service. 9.The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the scan by thevehicle scanning device is performed responsive to a vehicle beingreturned to a rental service.
 10. The computer-readable storage mediumof claim 7, wherein the scan by the vehicle scanning device is performedresponsive to a vehicle being inventoried after a sale, a lease turn-in,or a courtesy vehicle return.
 11. The computer-readable storage mediumof claim 7, wherein the scan by the vehicle scanning device is performedresponsive to a vehicle being returned after a vehicle demonstration.12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the scan bythe vehicle scanning device is performed responsive to a vehicle beingused for a transportation-as-a-service service.
 13. A method comprising:enabling, by a system comprising a processor and memory, a temporarypairing feature for pairing the system with a device, wherein thetemporary pairing feature comprises a trigger to cause deletion of dataassociated with the device after the system and the device are unpaired,wherein the trigger comprises a scan by a vehicle scanning device;pairing, using the temporary pairing feature, the system with thedevice; receiving, by the system, from the device, the data associatedwith the device, storing, by the system, in the memory, the dataassociated with the device, in response to the trigger, unpairing thesystem and the device, and deleting, by the system, from the memory, thedata associated with the device.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thescan by the vehicle scanning device is performed responsive to a vehiclebeing returned to a vehicle sharing service.
 15. The method of claim 13,wherein the scan by the vehicle scanning device is performed responsiveto a vehicle being returned to a rental service.
 16. The method of claim13, wherein the scan by the vehicle scanning device is performedresponsive to a vehicle being inventoried after a sale, a lease turn-in,or a courtesy vehicle return.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein thescan by the vehicle scanning device is performed responsive to a vehiclebeing returned after a vehicle demonstration.
 18. The method of claim13, wherein the scan by the vehicle scanning device is performedresponsive to a vehicle being used for a transportation-as-a-serviceservice.